GUIDANCE NOTES FOR WRITING REFERENCES
1. Introduction
These notes are intended to help staff in the preparation of references for current or past
employees and/or students.
2. Liability and duty of care
There are no legal obligations to provide references if requested. However, by not writing a
reference, the new employer could infer this as unfavourable and reject the individual on this
basis. If it is common practice to provide a reference for staff/students it could be seen as unfair
discrimination if the University decided not to provide a reference. The end result might be an
individual is prevented from getting a job. It is therefore advisable to provide a reference if
requested but to ensure that it is substantiated with factual information. If you are unable or
unwilling to give a reference you must ensure the refusal is communicated carefully to avoid
implying a negative reference.
The author of a reference owes a duty of care to the person about whom it is written, and may
be personally liable if that person suffers loss as a result of the negligently prepared reference.
If the subject of the reference is defamed orally or in writing, or suffers a financial loss because
the contents of the reference were knowingly untrue and given with malice intended, then a civil
action for defamation or malicious falsehood might follow. Liability may also come about through
carelessness either as to matters of fact or in the formulation of opinion.
The author of a reference also has an obligation and duty of care to the prospective employer,
to take reasonable care on the accuracy of references.
If you are unsure about whether or not to include a particular comment, leave it out.
Detrimental comments may be made where appropriate if they are based on provable fact.
3. Aims of a reference
There are 2 principal aims, which should be clearly differentiated
(i) To confirm facts - to confirm the accuracy of the statements made in an application,
eg. X made a significant contribution to the team project on XXX / acted as Year Rep
/ was awarded a University prize for …
(ii) To provide opinions – to give the referee’s opinion as to the candidate’s character,
potential and/or suitability for the post/placement in question
eg. In my opinion, X would be a good team member / has demonstrated leadership
potential / has shown above average technical ability
4. Practical advice on writing a reference
4.1 If you are likely to be asked to give a reference, prepare in advance
Tutors will normally be asked to act as referee by their students and it is therefore advisable to
collect information to make the composition of the reference an easier task. It is recommended
that students should be issued at regular intervals with a pro forma CV request enabling them to
feed back relevant information to keep their personal file or careers portfolio up-to-date.
Students should also be advised of their own responsibility to supply any information they would
wish to be included in a reference about themselves, in particular extra-curricular activities or
responsibilities which might be unknown to their tutor. The University is designing guidelines for
students to keep their Faculties updated on their career progress.
Similarly, managers should establish procedures to ensure that staff’s personal files are kept
up-to-date.
4.2 Try to be fair to both the subject and the recipient of the reference.
4.3 Ensure that the reference is factually accurate and complete eg. It is worth consulting the
student’s programme history/member of staff’s personal file to ensure you have the full
information.
4.4 Make sure that your opinions are clearly stated as opinions, are based on fact and that you
are qualified to give such an opinion
Ensure that the opinions you state are honest opinions based on facts known to you. Do
not make statements which you are not qualified to make. For example, “I consider X to
be well suited to a post for which s/he has applied, and am happy to support this
application” is better than “X will be a success in the post of …”
For this reason, particular care should be taken where you are asked for a reference for
a student/member of staff who is not known to you (for example, when the subject’s own
tutor or manager is absent or has left the University). Do not give an opinion without
foundation. It is preferable to quote someone who has knowledge of the candidate,
giving the source of the quote
When writing references for someone not well known to you personally, use a qualifying
phrase such as “To the best of my knowledge …”.
There may be issues on which you are asked to express an opinion on which you have
limited knowledge , e.g. honesty, integrity. You may have to say “I know of nothing which
would lead me to question X’s honesty…”
4.5 Avoid using ambiguous or ‘coded‘ language
For example, “X has been outspoken in his cohort”.
4.5 Do not include sensitive data in a reference
For example that which relates to an individual’s physical or mental health, ethnic or racial
origin, religious beliefs, sexual life, trade union membership.
4.6 Employee reference - if there are concerns about conduct or performance, but these issues
have never been raised with the employee, these should not be included in the reference.
However if the individual has been made aware of his or her performance level, it is
acceptable to state that the individual’s performance was below standard and provide some
evidence.
5. Unsolicited references
If you are asked to give a reference for a person who has not, to your knowledge, cited your
name as a referee, it is advisable to limit your information to the facts.
6. Approval of references
If a reference contains potentially critical information about the individual then this reference
should be agreed with the Head of SBU/Senior Manager for the area.
7. Confidentiality
All information provided should be treated as confidential. However under the Data Protection
Act 1998 it is no longer possible to guarantee that a reference will remain confidential. The
author of a reference need not show it to the individual, but employees can ask their new
employer for a copy of the reference which may be discloseable if it is proper to do so, having
balanced the rights of the author, any other person mentioned in the reference, and the
employee. It is good practice, therefore, to assume that a reference will be available to the
individual at a future date. If the opportunity exists, you may wish to discuss the reference with
the individual so that s/he is aware of its content.
8. Telephone references
You may be asked to give a reference over the telephone or be asked to expand on a written
reference. The above guidelines apply equally to references given over the telephone. Do not
be tempted to make incautious statements simply because they are not in writing. If the
receiver takes notes of, or records, the conversation these notes may subsequently be
disclosed as above. Ideally, references should not be given by telephone. Where unavoidable,
limit the information to facts and offer to follow up the conversation in writing. You should
always offer to provide a full written reference should the candidate be offered the post.
9. Providing a personal reference
A member of staff who is asked to provide a reference for a peer or colleague for whom they do
not have management responsibility or for a student with whom they have not had contact at
UH but know in a personal capacity should make clear that he/she is providing the reference in
a personal capacity. The reference should not be completed on headed paper and the
relationship of the referee to the individual concerned should be made clear.
10. Disclaimer
Although references may contain a disclaimer, this precaution may not overcome a soundly
based challenge where the referee maliciously defames the subject, or intends the reference to
deceive the receiver.
11. Records
A copy of the reference should be placed on the student’s file/departmental personal file.
12. Challenge to a reference
If you are challenged over a reference you have given, refer the matter to your Dean or Head of
SBU as soon as possible.
Never admit liability, as this may invalidate the University’s Insurance.
Updated June 2008